Dreamless Sleep
by mari2
Summary: Another twist to how the labyrinth might have affected Sarah. JS, kinda
1. Default Chapter

This one is kind of JS, but in a less perfect way than some I have read. It kind of takes everything that labyrinth fans want for Jareth and Sarah and twists it just a bit…To anyone who has read my other stories, I have been a bad, bad updater. I will try to reform, and I might even revive those long lost stories if things go well. Please forgive me, and let me know if this one makes sense…

Mari

Looking out her bedroom window at the beautiful streets of Oxford, she wished she could enjoy herself more. Each moment here was like a dream, and because of that it was nothing special for her.

It wasn't fair what he had done to her! What was Europe when you had been offered all of your dreams? Even the most dramatic of events, the most fabulous of journeys was nothing to her now. He hadn't just stolen her baby brother from her, stolen him by tricking her with words. He had stolen her chance at ever dreaming.

At first it had come back to her in flashes. The first clear memory she had of realizing what had happened was when Toby took his first steps. She had been babysitting again, but she didn't feel rejected or put upon about it. Every moment with Toby was a gift to her now. The tow-headed toddler had tossed a toy across the room, and his sister had walked over to get it for him while he laughed happily. She had shaken the little plush toy gently, teasing him with it. He smiled, knowing it was a game. And then, just when she had been about to return it to him, he had begun to crawl towards her awkwardly. She watched him, and then knelt on the floor to urge him forward. He reached the coffee table that stood between them, and she had waited to see what he would do. To her surprise and delight, he placed his chubby hands around the edge and pulled himself up shakily. With his sister smiling and calling words of encouragement, Toby had taken his first steps away from the table and into her arms.

At least, that was what Sarah had thought.

One moment she was smiling at the joy of Toby's first steps, the next she was once again watching him grasp the edge of the table. This time, Toby walked for real, but there was less joy in having lost the surprise. The first time Sarah had been imagining a dream. A dream that she had been given just months ago by a king.

She hadn't realized it at the time. It wasn't until the strange phenomenon happened again and again that Sarah realized. Everything good that happened to her, she knew about it before it occurred, and thus took less delight in it. At first Sarah thought her time in the labyrinth had gifted her with a strange clairvoyance, but then she realized that it was much simpler than that. She recognized all of the strange events. They were her dreams, and that man had already shown them to her, in the depths of a million crystals. There was nothing left for her in the real world, knowing all of her dreams this way. With a sinking feeling, Sarah felt that she could dream in the labyrinth. But that was a realm she would never be offered again.

At first she had been sad and longing desperately for the man that had caused her this strange loss. But the sadness had eventually turned to anger with each stolen, revealed dream. In Toby's case, Sarah had a slight happiness in realizing that she had even _had_ dreams for the brother she had supposedly despised before her adventure. It was proof that she hadn't really wanted to hurt Toby, even when she said the words. But most things had no such silver lining.

Sarah wanted to tell her someone about her predicament, but she didn't know how. How could a person imagine not having dreams? How could anyone truly feel the sadness of dreaming something wonderful, only to realize that it is something you have already seen, already accomplished in an ephemeral way, unless it happened to them?

To Sarah's knowledge, the labyrinth hadn't _happened_ to anyone else in the world, at least in the current century. She was alone, unique, dreamless…

Sadly, of all the revealed dreams, those of the man who had stolen them from her were the hardest to shake.


	2. Games Afoot

Thanks to my reviewers! Let me know if you like how things are going, and let me know if anything is confusing because I can tend to be a little disjointed at the beginning of my stories...

**Games Afoot**

Jareth still didn't know what had possessed him to play with her that way. The girl had still been a child, and he had played with her emotions. Had she been a member of the circles he was accustomed to running with, he wouldn't have been at fault for treating her as he did. She would have been the one who was laughed at and possibly scorned for falling prey to his professions of love, especially if he withdrew them. Yet even the fast, dangerously wealthy and privileged men and women of his acquaintance had rules. Adults, especially those trying to find favor at court, were fair game. Children, those unaccustomed to or unaware of the game were off limits…until they stepped onto the playing field.

The rules were known in his world. Parents kept their daughters, even their sons, away from the Hawks, the elite group of nobles that ruled the social and political scene at the high court of the underworld…at least until they were old enough to fend for themselves. Some kept their children away from court permanently, choosing instead to arrange marriages outside of its walls. Yet the most sought after matches were made among the ranks of the Falcons, and many took the chance that their dear daughters and sons would fall prey to their games without gaining any status from it.

The foolhardy young sons of minor Lords often tried it, with the hope being an invitation into the elite, privileged ranks, and with the worst case scenario being laughed out of court, stripped of funds and dignity. For the daughters, there was always the chance that they would catch the eye of a prince, even a king. The worst case scenario for them was being cast aside for their innocence, or robbed of it without the offer of matrimony.

Still, Jareth could justify the actions of his peers in that regard. Those from the underground were well aware of the rules of the Hawks. The had known what was happening when they arrived at court for the yearly Golden Ball, and had accepted any and all consequences just by showing their faces.

She had _not_ known.

He had tricked her into his world, trapped her into attending the ball. She had not known the importance of her attendance there, and yet he had held her to the rules that went along with it. He had offered her her dreams in exchange for her obedience, would have kept her there forever, casting aside the child, who had of course been nothing but a pawn, and forcing her to disappear from her own world into his, still never knowing what she was agreeing to. It was a cruel twist of fate that she had used words to escape him. He had unearthed those words, with their silly—but binding—meaning, only to trap her, letting the ancient book find its way into her hands. Fate had punished him for twisting chance to fit his purposes. She had learned the words of power in addition to the words that had allowed him to take the child, and had escaped him.

He had laughed it off among his friends, cursing the girl for her escape, and dedicating himself twice over to the unwholesome pursuits of the Falcons. He became even more of a master at the game to atone for his defeat, using his intelligence and political power to ruin and to build the lives of those around him according to his ever-darkening whims. He let himself forget that they were real people, and thought of them as numbers. Each triumph that he laughed about with his friends was one more point in his favor, one more point against his defeat. His conqueror.

Yet still, he could not get the girl out of his mind. Still he wanted her. He watched her as he had before his defeat. Yet before he had allowed his friends to know of his intent for the girl. Now he watched her in private, keeping his weakness, his continued obsession with her, hidden.

There were still ways…

No. He couldn't risk being defeated by her again. His reputation would not survive it, and the strength of his kingdom relied on his ability to play the political game as a master, as a member of the Falcons, the greatest and most privileged players of all. The labyrinth was a testament to him, of course, because no one but her had ever beaten it. But he still needed to be at court, and be winning. The people could easily forget the power of the far-off labyrinth, the most contested and impenetrable fortress of the game, if he was not at court as its emissary.

Still, if he was to force her into play again, and to win, the victory would be unlike anything a Falcon had experienced in centuries. Jareth hated to hurt Sarah, especially when he secretly admired her for her amazing victory, but he hated to lose even more.

Perhaps he had nursed his defeat long enough. Perhaps he was ready for a victory.


End file.
